Starching machine



Aug. 25, 1942. R. BARNETT 2,294,267

S'IHARCI'IING MACHINE Filed March 22, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 RowiamiBarrzeifi INVENTOR BY whya fd.

ATTORNEYS Aug. 25, 1942. R, BARNETT 2,294,267

STARCHING MACHINE Filed March 22, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 33 37 2-9 'I- 57Z9 27 27 J9 54 64 Rom Zand Barn/6i? INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 25,1942 SEARCHING MACHINE Rowland Barnett, Los Angeles, Calif, assignor ofone-half to C, P. Smith, Los Angeles, Calif.

3 Claims.

This invention relates to starching machines and has for an object toprovide a machine of this type in which one of the wringer rolls isnormally held spaced from the driven wringer roll to permit starchedarticles being inserted between the rolls, whereupon movement of asingle pedal will control pneumatic means to bring the spaced roll andstarched article into contact with the driven roll and press the articlewith great pressure against the driven roll so that the article will besqueegeed and fed upwardly through a delivery opening at the top of themachine.

A further object is to provide a machine of this character in which airpressure is the motive power for operating the device so thatflexibility of control is effected and timing of the device improved.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which will beformed of a few strong, simple and durable parts, which will beinexpensive to manufacture, and which will not easily get out of order.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists ofcertain novel details of construction and combinations of partshereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood thatvarious modifications may be resorted to within the scope of theappended claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any ofthe advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification:

Figure l is a detail perspective view showing the starch container dripcan and delivery apron of the machine.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the machine taken on the line2-2 of Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of the machine taken on the line 33of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view of the pedal controlled air supplyvalve.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the automatic valvefor timing the release of air from the air cylinders which operate theswingable roll.

Referring now to the drawings in which like characters of referencedesignate similar parts in the various views, ill designates a casingwhich is supported upon legs l I and is provided with a 7 top wall l2having an opening l3 therein at about the transverse cent-er thereof,the front portion of the top wall being reversely curved to provide adownwardly extending delivery apron l4.

Below the opening IS, a drip pan i5 is removably supported upontransverse bars l6 and H,

the apron being curved upwardly at the rear end, as shown at, is, andhaving side walls 2!! which extend upwardly to a point near the openingI3. A roll iii of rubber, or other material, is fixed to a transverselydisposed shaft 22,bo th ends of which are equipped with sprocket gears23, shown best in Figure 3, over which respective chains 2.4 are trainedto actuate the gears and rotate the roll.

A roll 25 formed of rubber, or other material, is mounted on atransversely disposed shaft 26 which is journalled at the ends in crankarms 21 which are secured to a rock shaft 128, best shown in Figure 3,the ends of which are journalled in bearings 2 mounted on the side wallsof the casing. A crank arm at is secured to the center of the rock.shaft and extends downwardly therefrom for operating the rock shaft toswing the roll 25 toward the roll 2! after an article, such as a shirt,has been inserted in the opening L3 and the cuffs thereof submerged in astarch c0 ntainer 3i, which is removably mounted on cross bars 32disposed in the casing below the free end of the drip pan. A portion ofthe shirt, of course, will exist between the two rolls 2! and 25 so thatwhen the spaced roll 25 is swung toward the driven roll, the shirt willbe clamped between the rolls to be fed upwardly through the opening 13in the top of the casing, and during such feeding movement the cuff, orthe collar, whichever is starched, will be fed between and squeegeed.between both rolls.

A pneumatic cylinder 33 is mounted on a bracket arm 34 which is fixed tothe rear wall of the casing Ill and is provided with a piston 35, havinga piston rod 36 which is connected. to the crank arm to. A helicalspring 3'! is connected at the upper end to the crank arm 34] and at thelower end is connected to the bracket arm 38 which projects from thecylinder. The spring normally holds the crank arm 39, and piston 35, attheir lowermost limits of movement to normally hold the roll 25 spacedfrom the roll 2|, as best shown in Figure 2. A compressed air supplypipe 39 is connected to the bottom of the pneumatic cylinder underneaththe piston. The air supply pipe 39 is connected to a control valvecasing it, best shown in Figure 4, having a plug valve 4! therein, thestem 42 of which projects through the casing 0 and is equipped with acrank arm G3 which is connected by a link 44 to a pedal 45, the lowerend of which is connected by a pivot pin 46 to a downwardly extendingbracket arm 41 secured to the bottom 48 of the casing. A helical spring49 is connected to the pedal and to the bracket arm to normally hold thevalve in position to shut off air from the compressed air supply pipe39.

The plug valve 4| is provided with an arouate passage 50 adapted tocross connect the air supply pipe 39 with an air inlet pipe 5! when thepedal is depressed and let compressed air, from any suitable source ofsupply, into the air supply pipe 39, into the pneumatic cylinder 33under the piston 35 thereof. While the pedal is held depressed, the airwill continue to build up pressure in the cylinder underneath thepiston. When the pedal is released, the spring 49 moves the plug valve4| to dispose the passage 59 to cross connect the compressed air supplypipe 39 with an air vent 52 in the valve casing 49 and vent thepneumatic cylinder 33 to the atmosphere.

When predetermined air pressure has been built up in the cylinder 33underneath the piston 35 to hold the swingable roll 25 in position toclamp the starched article under great pressure against the roll 2| thelatter is started to rotate, and for this purpose mechanism is providedincluding a pair of relatively large pneumatic cylinders 53, which aredisposed on the bottom 48 of the casing approximately underneath thesprocket gears 23 of the roll 2!. Both cylinders are provided in thebottom with air supply pipes 54 which connect with a common air supplypipe 55, which is connected by a pipe 56 to the bottom of the casing 51of a vertically slidable plug valve 58, best shown in Figure 5. The plugvalve is connected by a link 59 to the crank arm 30 of the rock shaft 28so that when the rock shaft 28 is moved to rock the swingable roll intooperative position, the plug valve 59 will be moved upward to openposition to establish communication between the air supply pipes 54 forthe cylinders 53 and a pipe 60 which is connected to the valve casing SIof an automatic valve. The automatic valve is provided with an upwardlyclosing cone valve 62, having a stem 63 upon which a helical spring 64is sleeved and compressed between a nut 65 on the stem and the top of agland nut 65 connected to the valve casing. The tension of the spring issuch that when predetermined air pressure builds up in the cylinder 33which controls the roll 25, the built up pressure in the air supply pipe39 will be exerted upon the cone valve 62 through a pipe 61 whichconnects the pipe 39 to the automatic valve casing BI, and willoverbalance the pressure of the spring 64, thus letting compressed airfrom the pipe 39 into the bottom of both large cylinders 53 underneaththe respective piston 68 therein, through the open valve 58.

Theipiston rods 69 of the pistons 68 project through the top of thelarge cylinders 53 and are forked at the upper ends to receiverespective stub shafts 19 to which are secured sprocket gears H ofrelatively large diameter. Sprocket gears 12 of relatively smalldiameter are secured to respective shafts 13 carried by bracket arms 14which are secured to the top of the respective cylinders 53. Thesprocket chains 24 heretofore mentioned as being trained over thesprocket gears 23 of the rotatable roll 2! are trained under thesprocket gears 12 and over the sprocket gears 'H'and secured at thelower ends to the lugs I5 which project from the top of the cylinders53. The free ends of the chains are equipped with weights [6. When airis let into the cylinders 53 underneath their pistons 58, the pistonrods 69 will be moved upwardly carrying the large sprocket gears Hupwardly and rotating the small sprocket gears 12 as the chain is drawnthereover at such a speed that the weights 16 will be raised quickly outof the way of the upwardly moving sprocket gears H and at the same timethe sprocket gears 23 of the rotatable roll 2| will be rotated to rotatethe roll. This rotation of the roll will be effected while the pedal 45is being held down, or until at least the pistons 68 in the aircylinders 63 reach their upward limit of movement.

When the operator removes his foot from the pedal 45, the spring 49thereof moves the air supply valve 4| to disconnect the pipes 5| and 39and connect the pipe 39 through the passage 50, with the vent 52, sothat air is let out of the cylinder 33. Thereupon the spring 31 rocksthe rock shaft 28 to swing the roll 25 outwardly from the roll 2|, andwhile this is occurring, the link' 59 closes the plug valve 58 to out01f communication between the pipe 39 and the large air cylinders 53 andvent the large cylinders 53 to the atmosphere through the pipes 56 and apassage 11 in the valve 58, this position of the parts being shown inFigure 5. As air is vented from the cylinders 53, the weights 15gravitate and the fixed'end of the sprocket chains 24 simultaneouslypush down the sprocket gears H to cause the pistons 68 to recede toinitial position ready for the next operation.

Since the operation of the parts has been described as the descriptionof the parts progressed.

it is thought the construction and operation of the invention will befully understood without further explanation.

What is claimed is:

1. In a starching machine, the combination of stationary and movablewringer rolls, crank means mounting the movable roll to swing toward andaway from the stationary roll, a relatively short air cylinder having apiston connected to the crank means for operating the crank means, apipe for supplying air to and releasing air from the cylinder, a footpedal operated valve controlling the pipe, a relatively long aircylinder, a piston in the long cylinder, drive means connecting thepiston with the stationary roll for rotating the roll when air is letinto the long cylinder, an air control valve connected to the bottom ofthe long cylinder and operated by the crank means for admitting air toand releasing air from the long cylinder, a pressure control valveconnected to the air control valve and to the air supply pipe of theshort cylinder for admitting air to the long cylinder through the aircontrol valve when pressure in the short cylinder reaches apredetermined maximum for causing rotation of the stationary roll, adrain pan below the rolls, and a starch container below the delivery endof the drain pan.

2. The structure as of claim 1 and in which said crank means comprises arock shaft, a crank arm on the rock shaft supporting the movable roll, apiston in the short air cylinder, a crank arm on the rock shaftconnected to the piston for rocking the roll toward the stationary rollwhen air is let into the cylinder, and a helical spring connected to thesecond named crank arm and to the cylinder for rocking the movable rollaway from the stationary roll when air is released from the shortcylinder.

3. The structure as of claim 1 and in which said drive means comprises apiston in the long cylinder, a large sprocket gear carried by thepiston, a small sprocket gear carried by the long cylinder, a sprocketgear carried by the stationary roll, a sprocket chain connected at oneend to the cylinder and trained over the large sprocket gear then underthe small sprocket gear, then over the sprocket gear carried by the rolland thence extended downwardly toward the long cylinder, and a Weight onthe free end of the sprocket chain, movement of the piston underinfluence of air in the cylinder moving the large sprocket gear upwardto pull the sprocket chain over the small sprocket gear and rollsprocket gear to rotate the roll and elevate the Weight, said weightgravitating and resetting the stationary roll in initial position whenair is released from the long cylinder.

ROWLAND BARNETT.

